The Newtown Tragedy: What Our Grief Teaches Us

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“There is an ever present need to increase our awareness, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. This is necessary for the individual, but also for our communities as we have unfortunately witnessed; undiagnosed and untreated mental illness may lead to tragedy for us all,” said Dr. Bailey.

Dr. Bailey further noted that although signs of mental illness appear in adolescence and early adulthood; mental illnesses are usually diagnosed in young men in their late teens to mid-twenties, as opposed to women which are more often diagnosed in their late 20’s.

These signs or symptoms are not limited to a particular race or group in our society and we must recognize that mental illness is a medical condition. “The stigma associated with mental illness delays adequate diagnosis and care and can have devastating effects on the country,” according to Dr. Bailey.

Many medical researchers believe it is due to a combination of biological and social pressure that has come into play in that particular individual’s life.

“The late teens and 20’s are often a period of time in a young person’s life where an insurmountable amount of stress and/or peer pressure is being experienced. This is extremely true in young men, especially now, with the social media and internet aspect augmented by the fact that they are transitioning from boyhood to manhood. This stress and peer pressure is certainly more evident, particularly if they (the young men) have not established themselves financially, career wise, with their family and personal relationships.” continued, Dr. Bailey.

“As a result of these young men not being diagnosed and left untreated; they often experience feelings of depression, loneliness, isolation and/or anger at being excluded, all of which can lead to low self-esteem, shyness, substance abuse, homelessness, extreme violence, a life of crime and/or incarceration, just to name few.”